Health Minister Ma said the practice of collecting blood and using it for dyeing would be banned in Tamil Nadu. Subramaniam here on Wednesday.
Talking to media persons after inspecting the preparedness for COVID-19 at the international airport here, he said, “From today onwards, blood collection for the purpose of making art should be stopped. Blood is used to save countless lives, and it is not the only medium for painting. Therefore, blood art centers will be banned in the state and severe action will be taken against anyone who violates these rules.”
“Blood donation saves a lot of lives and it is not fair to use it in art. Doctors and other medical professionals use proper needles and techniques while collecting blood from a patient and also preserve the blood effectively. However, the blood collected for painting is not preserved properly, and since blood can be drawn from multiple patients with a single needle, dangerous viruses like HIV can infect them,” said Mr. Subramanian. He also requested the youth to desist from such practices.
The Minister said that the Health Department officials have been directed to compulsorily conduct RT-PCR test at the international airport for all passengers who have arrived from countries where the spread of infection is high. From Saturday, Tamil Nadu resumed random testing of international passengers arriving at airports amid a rise in coronavirus infections from abroad.
“Wearing a mask and washing hands are already covered under the COVID-19 protocols. We have not announced any relaxation. All COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures are still in place. It is safe to wear a mask in crowded places like malls, and in air-conditioned environments,” he said.
He said Tamil Nadu has already reported the BF.5 variant of Omicron and the current BF.7 variant reported abroad is a sub-type of the virus. Talking about the recent increase in active cases abroad, Mr. Subramanian said that the number of cases has come down to single digits, and there has been no loss of life for the last six months. “96% people have been given the first dose of the vaccine, and 92% have been given the second dose of the vaccine. There has been an increase in the immunity level among people, which is why the state has not reported any COVID-19 related deaths during the last six to seven months,” Mr Subramanian said.